HURON — Despite giving up 19 unanswered points in the first half, the Huron boys’ basketball team had the opportunity to hand the No. 1-ranked Class AA team its first loss of the season on Saturday at Huron Arena.
Sioux Falls Lincoln, which was unbeaten in its first eight games of the season, converted on 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12.3 seconds of the game to pull out a 56-52 victory against the upset-minded Tigers.
“You have to give Lincoln credit, they put us in that hole. But, you also have to look at our kids and pat them on the back as well, because our kids responded,” Huron coach Jon Schouten. “We were down and things weren’t going our way, it was 23-11, and based on our previous games you’re kind of holding your hat wondering what is going to happen. Our kids battled back, Teegan (Evers) got hot and hit a couple shots and to the other guys’ credit they found him and got him open.”
Huron, which was looking to end a two-game losing skid, capitalized on some cold shooting by the Patriots to build an 11-4 lead in the opening quarter.
After a 3-pointer by Nathan Boehrns to open the scoring, Jett McGirr had back-to-back baskets to propel Huron on a 8-2 run. Kobe Busch scored on a drive to the basket and Evers had an offensive rebound and putback to give the Tigers the 7-point advantage at 11-4.
Lincoln would score the final four points of the opening quarter to slice its deficit to 11-7.
The momentum carried into the second quarter, as the Patriots would score the first 16 points to build a 23-11 advantage with 3:08 remaining in the half. Tyler Hiatt and Jared Jaros each had six points in the run.
“That seems to be our MO, we jump out, get a little bit of a lead and then, for whatever reason, we stop pushing, we relax a little bit and maybe get a little tired,” Schouten said. “Against a good team like Lincoln you knew eventually that run was going to come from them. They are just such a good offensive team and they are so potent with the size that they have.”
Huron would answer with a 10-2 run to close the first half, narrowing Lincoln’s advantage to just 25-21.
After a pair of free throws by Busch and a basket by Cooper Fryberger, Evers connected on back-to-back 3-pointers for the Tigers to close the half.
Evers picked up right where he left off at the start of the third quarter with his third 3-pointer in as many trips down the floor. The long-range jumper combined with a basket from McGirr and a pull-up jumper by Boehrns gave Huron its only lead of the second half at 28-27 early in the third quarter.
Although the Patriots would regain the lead and stretch it to as many as seven points in the third quarter, Huron would stick within striking distance. A layup by Fryberger on a give-and-go followed by a pair of free throws by Evers pulled the Tigers back to with in three at 35-32 as the third quarter ended.
Despite facing a trio of six-point deficits in the final quarter, Huron was able to make a push for the win in the final 30 seconds.

A pair of free throws by Busch drew the Tigers back to within four at 53-49 with 28.7 seconds to play. A pair of missed free throws by the Patriots allowed Boehrns to pull up for his second 3-pointer of the game with 12.9 seconds on the clock to make it just a one-point game at 53-52.
“He’s got that little swagger to him, where he can hit shots like that,” Schouten said of the key jumper late by Boehrns.
“At that point, down four with the clock winding down, that’s a big time shot from a big time shooter. You can’t be afraid and he showed no fear on that shot.”
Zach Hanson, who had just missed the two previous attempts from the charity stripe, converted on a pair of free throws with 12.3 seconds on the clock to boost Lincoln’s lead to 55-52.
After a pair of missed scoring opportunities for Huron, Hanson returned to the line to seal the victory for the Patriots by hitting one of two shots with 3.7 seconds left in the game.
“Our kids battled their tails off, but you just can’t do anything about the lack of size we have,” Schouten said. “I thought our kids battled. You take out those lapses, a few of the rebounds in the second half and its a new ball game.”
Jaros finished with 22 points to lead Lincoln, while Hiatt also reached double figures with 14 points. Nate Brecht and Hanson added eight and seven points, respectively.
Huron, which is now 6-4, was led by Evers with 22 points and four rebounds. Busch also reached double figures with 10 points, while Boehrns had eight points and McGirr had six points.
The Tigers will return to action Tuesday with an 8 p.m. Game against Harrisburg as part of a doubleheader at Huron Arena.
Lincoln swept the Huron boys in the lower level games on Saturday.
The Patriots won the junior varsity game 63-44.
Derick Siemonsma led the Tigers with 23 points and four rebounds.
Max Kranzler and Kler Hae led the Huron sophomores with 15 and 13 points, respectively, in an 83-46 setback.
Kranzler also had 24 points for the Tigers in the freshman A-game, which was won 82-56 by Lincoln.
The Patriots also won the freshman B-game 68-42.
Steven DeGeest led Huron with 16 points.

Sioux Falls Lincoln       7  25  35  56
Huron         11  21  32  52
Sioux Falls Lincoln (9-0): Maxwell Burchill 0 1-2 1; Jared Jaros 9 2-2 22; Nate Brecht 2 4-5 8; Tyler Hiatt 6 2-4 14; Sam Fawcett 2 0-0 4; Zach Hanson 2 3-5 7. Totals: 21 12-18 56.
Huron (6-4): Jett McGirr 3 0-0 6; Tanner Evers 0 2-2 2; Teegan Evers 7 4-4 22; Kobe Busch 3 4-4 10; Nathan Boehrns 3 0-0 8; Cooper Fryberger 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 10-10 52.
Rebounds: SFL 36 (Burchill 6); H 24 (Teegan Evers 4). 3-point goals: SFL 2 (Jaros 2); H 6 (Teegan Evers 4, Boehrns 2). Turnovers: SFL 11; H 8. Assists: SFL na; H na. Steals: SFL 3 (Jaros 2); H 5 (McGirr 2). Fouls: SFL 12; H 20.